Victoria 1879 S Gold Sovereign St George NGC MS 62

AUSTRALIA. Victoria, 1837-1901.
Gold Sovereign, 1879 S. Sydney. St George.
Young head left, WW buried in truncation; mintmark S below; VICTORIA D: G: BRITANNIAR: REG: F: D:. / St George on horseback slaying the dragon right, horse with long tail; date and small B.P. in exergue. Edge milled.

The Sydney Mint struck sovereigns with both the shield and St George reverses in 1879, continuing the parallel production of the two designs long after the shield type had been discontinued in London. The surviving mint records give a combined annual output of 1,366,000 sovereigns but do not establish how many carried each reverse.

The present St George variety pairs William Wyon’s Young Head, with his initials partially buried in the truncation, with the long-tailed form of Benedetto Pistrucci’s celebrated reverse. The ‘S’ beneath Victoria’s portrait identifies its production at Sydney, while the small ‘B.P.’ appears in the exergue beside the date.

The issue is difficult to obtain at the highest levels of preservation. Graded NGC MS62, the present coin is one of only four examples recorded at this grade, with four certified finer.

In secure plastic holder, graded NGC MS 62 , certification number 6692922-014.

NGC Census in this grade: 4.
NGC Census in higher grade: 4
Reference: S-3858A; Marsh-116; McD-156
Weight: 7.99g. (AGW=0.2355 oz.)
Diameter: 22mm.
Composition: 917/1000 Gold.

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